


Home for Christmas

by Whilhelmina_Prince



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, New York
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 16:46:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9081016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whilhelmina_Prince/pseuds/Whilhelmina_Prince
Summary: A snowstorm traps Rhett and Link in New York over Christmas





	

“Dang it!” Link hit the button to hang up his phone and threw it down on the bed. 

Rhett sighed and sat heavily on the other bed in the cramped hotel room. “That didn’t sound good.”

It was early in the morning on Christmas Eve. Their red-eye flight out of New York that had been scheduled for the previous night had been canceled due to a storm that had cropped up seemingly out of nowhere. Now, the city was white and still.

Link shook his head. “There’s just too much snow and it’s not stopping. We’re stuck here. No flights until at least the day after Christmas. Maybe late Christmas night, if we’re lucky.”

Rhett flopped back, stretching out on the bed. “I guess it’s good Jessie and Christy already left for North Carolina with the kids. They can be home for Christmas, at least.”

“Yeah. I guess.” The cold tone in Link’s voice told Rhett that Link didn’t agree. Not at all.

Both men stayed silent for a few minutes, tired and sullen. 

Rhett finally broke the silence. “Well, we’re here. Maybe we should try and get some work done.”

Link snorted and wrung his hands, his anxiety flaring up over being stuck in an unfamiliar city and not knowing when they would leave. “Not like we’ll be doing anything else.”

Rhett frowned. “At least we’re stuck together. That’s something.”

Link rolled his eyes. 

Rhett bit back on the vitriol about to exit his mouth. Link had every right to be upset about missing Christmas with his family. Rhett was upset, too. But their New York experience, the highlight of which was their appearance on the Tonight Show, had been magical, a high point in their career. He didn’t want that overshadowed by letting it turn into the worst Christmas ever. Especially not for Link. 

“Why don’t you go back to sleep for a while,” he suggested instead. “You were up half the night checking the weather reports. You’ll feel better after a nap.”

Link shrugged, but crawled back into his bed and was out in minutes.

Rhett knew it wasn’t just the weather and the canceled flights that had kept Link up. Link hated sleeping alone and always had. Link had never explained it, but Rhett always suspected it reminded him of how lonely he’d been as a child. The presence of a warm body next to him let him know he was loved and wanted.

Rhett called both his wife and Link’s to let them know they would be missing Christmas. Rhett could at least save Link the pain of that phone call. Both women were extremely unhappy, but it was worse with Christy. She cried, and Rhett did his best to console her, but he wasn’t terribly effective. Link could have done better at his best, but in the state he was in, he probably would have made it worse.

When he was finally off the phone, he settled down and checked his email. He looked over some preliminary ideas for the upcoming season of Good Mythical Morning, but keep finding his mind wandering. He looked over at his friend, snoring away, mouth open, and all he could think about was how terrible Link was still going to feel when he woke up. 

“I don’t even have his present with me,” Rhett said under his breath. “It was in Jessie’s bag.” They never exchanged huge presents, but Rhett always did like to give Link a gift to open. Often, it was just something small and funny to make him laugh, but other times Rhett would give him something Link either wanted or needed, but was too frugal to purchase for himself. This year, he’d gotten him a new backpack for his laptop, as Link was holding his old one together with duct tape.

But Rhett couldn’t even let Link open that to cheer him up. It was in North Carolina with his wife.

Rhett sighed and shut his laptop. Working was pointless. He wandered down to the hotel lobby and got a bottle of water and a candy bar from a vending machine. Sitting in the lobby, he watched the snow fall, covering the streets in a powdery blanket. There were few cars other than plows. People walked by in heavy boots and bundled in huge coats, carrying bags of last minute gifts. 

He supposed he could go out and buy Link a gift. But Link would probably yell at him for wasting the extra money. Plus, he hadn’t brought boots made for snow and would likely just end up with wet socks and cold feet.

He took a bite of the candy bar and rested his chin in his hand as he chewed. It was going to be a terrible Christmas.

He got up and paced around the hotel lobby. He noticed the door that led into the breakfast area and peeked in, hoping there might still be coffee left over. Breakfast had ended a few hours ago, so he wasn’t hopeful.

There was coffee, but it was cold. Rhett took a sip then dumped it into the garbage. It wasn’t good enough coffee to bother. He was about to leave to head back to their room when he noticed a shelf of individual boxes of cereal and other items.

An idea began to form, and soon, he was back in their room, shaking Link awake.

“Link! Link, wake up!”

Link rubbed his eyes. “What? Did the airline call?”

Rhett shook his head sadly. Maybe he should have toned down his excitement. “No. Sorry, buddyroll. But … I have an idea.”

“You’re not thinking about driving, are you?” Link, still laying on his side, eyed Rhett with suspicion and a little bit of terror. Neither of them were skilled drivers in the snow.

“Oh, gosh, no,” Rhett replied. “I just had an idea for how to make the best of this.”

“Me too. Sleep through it.” Link pulled the blanket over his head.

“Come on, man! I’m serious!” He pulled the blanket off Link’s face. His eyes were pleading.

Link sat up and put his glasses on. “Okay, okay. I’m listening.”

“Alright, we’re stuck here, right? And it’s just us. No family. No presents. No nothing.”

Link frowned. “You’re not exactly selling this, Rhett.”

“I’m getting to it,” Rhett said, holding up a hand. “I was thinking, we can still have Christmas together. We just have to get … creative.”

Link raised an eyebrow. “Okay … how?”

Rhett bounced a little as he readjusted himself so he was facing Link properly. “Okay, so here’s what we do. We have the whole hotel and we have the rest of the day. We can’t spend any money. But we find each other three things, and tomorrow we open them up.”

“That sounds stupid.”

“No, it’ll be fun! Like a … like a scavenger hunt or something. You can take anything that’s already free from the hotel, or you can ask strangers for stuff, or whatever. You’ll just have to think outside the box.”

“And then what, we wrap them in newspaper?”

“I was thinking we’d hang up a couple of stockings.”

“Stockings? What, did you pack a couple?”

“No, man, we go old school! Just hang a couple of socks over the fireplace!”

“We don’t have a fireplace.”

“Okay, we’ll just set them on top of the TV. It doesn’t matter. It’ll be fun, Link, I promise!”

Link’s face contorted a bit as he puzzled over it. “So, three things, can’t spend money, and has to fit in a sock.”

“Yeah. Think of it like a challenge. A game you have to win.”

A small smile crossed Link’s face, just for a moment. “All right. One condition, though.”

Rhett nodded and waited for Link’s condition.

“My family always does stockings on Christmas Eve. So we have to open them tonight.”

Rhett smiled. “We can open them tonight. So are we on then?”

“Sure. Why not?”

Link put on his shoes and bolted out of the room. Rhett already had two items, and just had to think up a third. 

After an afternoon of searching, video calls to their families, and a late dinner in the hotel’s restaurant, the two men returned to their hotel room. Link’s mood had shifted slightly. As they rode the elevator, Rhett could see that Link’s shoulders had relaxed somewhat and his frown wasn’t quite so deep. 

He hoped his gifts would wipe that frown from Link’s face completely.

On top of the television, Rhett had placed one of his black socks, filled with the three items he had found for Link. Next to it sat a lurid yellow sock Link had worn on the Tonight Show.

“Is that even clean?” Rhett asked, wrinkling his nose. He tried to act disgusted, but he couldn’t hide his laughter. 

Link shrugged. “I just thought it was more festive. Anyway, I only wore it for a couple of hours.”

“Gross, man. Now my gifts are gonna smell like your feet,” Rhett teased.

Link couldn’t help but to smile. He elbowed Rhett in the side. “Listen, we both know that if anybody’s got foot stink, it’s you.”

“That’s why I used a clean sock! But now I’m thinking I should have given you one of the ones I wore to traipse around the city yesterday. That one has some real good foot stench.” 

Link laughed, and Rhett was glad to hear it. “I think I’ll stick with the one you used.”

They each took down the sock they had filled and sat down on the edge of the bed facing each other. Link let one leg dangle to the floor and folded other in front of him. Instinctually, Rhett followed suit, mirroring his friend.

Rhett held out the black sock. “Merry Christmas, Link.”

Link took the sock and handed Rhett the bright yellow sock. Rhett held it to his nose and sniffed it. “Mmm, feet. My favorite.”

Link chuckled. “Shut up, bo.”

Rhett felt a little flutter inside. Link was starting to cheer up. He knew it.

“You go first, Rhett.”

Rhett reached into the sock and pulled out two individual paper packets, clearly from the hotel desk. “Advil?”

“For your back. I know how you get after a couple of days on a hotel bed. I didn’t want you to be in pain.” 

It was sweet and thoughtful. Just like Link. He reached in again and pulled out a wine cork. He held it up and tilted his head in confusion. 

Link laughed. “I just figured, Christmas Eve is one of those nights you tuck the kids in and relax with a glass of wine. But since I couldn’t buy you a bottle, I just got you the cork. You can smell it and imagine how it would taste.”

Rhett shook his head with a closed mouth grin. “How did you get it?”

Link shrugged. “I saw a couple heading into their room with a bottle of wine. I asked them if they were going to open it, and they said yes, so I asked if I could have the cork.”

“And they said yes?”

Link gave Rhett his best toothy grin. “Sure. I’m very convincing.”

“Only you, man. Only you.”

“You’ve got one left,” Link said, gesturing at the sock.

Rhett reached in. “Ow!” he cried as something poked him. He felt around and pulled out a bundle of toothpicks tied together with a shoelace. 

“Sorry,” Link said. “I guess I should have laid them sideways.”

“Toothpicks?” 

“I wanted to give you your favorite thing, and it was the only wooden thing I could find.” 

Rhett snickered a little, but the snicker soon turned into a giggle and before he knew it, he was full-on belly laughing. “It’s perfect, Link. Just perfect,” he said when he was finally able to catch his breath. 

Rhett leaned forward and hugged Link, pulling him in close. “Thanks, man.”

“No, thank you,” Link said as he loosened his hold. 

“You didn’t even open yours yet.”

“I just meant for cheering me up. It was fun, running around trying to figure out what I could give you. Distracted me from everything else.” 

Rhett smiled proudly. That had been exactly the idea. 

“You have to open yours now.” He picked up the sock and put it back in Link’s hands. 

Link nodded and reached into the sock. He pulled out a small plastic packet and turned it over in his hands to examine it. When he saw what it was, he let out a big laugh. “Aww, peanut butter! Thanks, man!”

Rhett blushed, for reasons he couldn’t explain. “Took it from the breakfast room,” he explained. 

Link reached back into the black sock and pulled out his next gift. “Mini-Wheats!” he cried, as he took out the individual serving box of cereal. “Man, I should have gone down for breakfast this morning!”

“But then you would have ruined the surprise,” Rhett said, smiling with pride. 

“Aw, thanks man. I’ve got the perfect evening snack now.” 

The lines around Link’s mouth had soften and a little of his natural glow had returned to his cheeks. Rhett’s plan had worked. Link was almost his old self. 

Link reached in and pulled out the final gift: two plastic spoons, nestled together and held with a bit of ribbon. He turned the spoons over in his hands and looked up at Rhett. “One for cereal, one for peanut butter?”

“I guess you could do that,” Rhett said. “But it’s more of a symbolic gift.”

Now it was Link’s turn to look sideways at Rhett. “I don’t get it.”

Rhett looked down at the bed as he spoke. “I just know you didn’t sleep well last night, and well, I know I’m not Christy, but I thought, if you wanted, I’d ...” 

But he dropped off, the idea that had sounded so good in his head now making him feel awkward and stupid. 

“Rhett?”

He looked up into Link’s blue eyes, finding no judgement there. “You were so upset this morning about not being home for Christmas, not being with your wife and kids. I just didn’t want you to feel alone on Christmas.”

As he said the words, he felt tears spring up, and he realized that it wasn’t entirely about Link. “And maybe I didn’t want to be alone, either,” he confessed.

“Aw, bo,” Link said, cupping Rhett’s face in his hand. “I’m not upset about not being home for Christmas.”

“You’re not?”

Link shook his head. “Nah. I’m sad for Christy and the kids that I can’t be there. I know they’re taking it pretty hard, and I feel awful. And yeah, I want to be with them. But Rhett?”

Rhett met Link’s eyes again. 

“Rhett, you gave up basketball so you and I could go to college together. I quit my job when you got laid off so we could work together. We gave up everything and moved across the country together for an opportunity, and here we still are. I’m not upset about not being home for Christmas, Rhett, because I am home for Christmas. You’re my home. You always have been.”

Rhett’s tears came fast, and the tables turned. Now it was Link’s turn to be there for Rhett, to be the steady rock Rhett needed under his feet. Link scooted over and knelt next to Rhett, holding him as he released all the tension that had built up since they realized they were stuck in New York.

“I thought you were upset you had to be stuck here with me,” Rhett said as his tears began to abate.

“Never,” Link said. “I’m sorry I made you think that. I was just stressed. But if I have to be stuck anywhere, I’m glad it’s with you.”

Link sat back down and they sat side-by-side on the bed. Link found Rhett’s hand and squeezed it. “Tell you what,” he said. “Let me be the big spoon tonight.”

Rhett nodded, accepting Link’s offer, and squeezed his hand back.

They got ready for bed, stripping down to just underwear and crawled into one bed. Rhett laid on his side, and Link wrapped himself behind him. “This okay?”

Oddly, it was. Rhett had complained about sharing beds with Link in hotels on at least half a dozen videos, but the truth was, he really had never minded. And on this Christmas Eve, having his best friend with him was all he could ask for.

“Yeah,” replied, grasping Link’s hand in his own. “It’s perfect.”

They fell asleep quickly, breathing in rhythm with each other. 

When the sun peeked through the curtains in the morning, Rhett woke and found Link exactly where he had started. Rhett rolled over so they faced each other. He leaned in and pressed his lips to Link’s forehead. Link opened his eyes.

“Merry Christmas, bo,” Rhett said. 

Link took Rhett’s hand in his and returned the kiss. “Merry Christmas to you, too, bo.”


End file.
